Any price
The Waxed Bat Reserve
"Big and gold, lots of chocolaty plum fruit, cassis, tobacco, liquorice. An extremely polished effort" (Decanter World Wine Awards). The legendary Opi Sadler has triumphed again! His Waxed Bat Reserve edition had taken Gold and Platinum medals, then Best in Show Trophy at the highly prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards. That was beating 17,000 other wines from around the world. Perhaps it should be of no surprise when we know it has so much intense ripe black fruit and creamy oak. It clearly shows that Malbec and Cabernet from Argentina's high altitude Mendoza region is a match made in heaven. Even better when the wines are aged in barrel, too. It's a sumptuous mouthfilling red, smooth enough to drink solo but at its very best with garlic studded roast lamb, a juicy steak or a warming casserole. Decant early if you can.
McPherson The Full Fifteen
Punnets of strawberry, blackberry and raspberry flavour are miraculously shoehorned into a standard size bottle, while ageing in American oak adds a spicy, toasty finishing touch. 'Big Mac' McPherson grew up in the world of wine, tutored by his father Jock, who had established a winery in the Hunter Valley. Andrew went on to set up wineries at home and abroad and work for some Australia's top names. These days he crafts characterful wines by himself at great value prices. The Full Fifteen is perfect with roast beef or lamb and a wonderful companion to barbecues.
McPherson XV Pure
16 Little Black Pigs Cabernet Sauvignon
If you love the big rich wines from bestselling The Black Pig label, then don't miss their latest 16 Little Black Pigs offering - a luscious South Australian Cabernet showing all the intensity that you know and love. Get ready for billowing black fruit, cedary oak and grippy tannins on a long, intense finish. It's waiting for sizzling barbecue.
Steeple Block Cabernet Sauvignon
Steeple Block has long been a favourite with our customers, and this sublime example shows why. It has loads of powerful, dark, mouthcoating fruit, a smooth, rich palate, and a lovely delicate herbal touch. Succulent, juicy, and brimming with dark fruit flavours of mocha and tobacco. It’s a luscious red you’re sure to love.
Château Ramage La Batisse
If you’re a long-standing customer who enjoys a drop of decent mature Bordeaux, chances are you’ve heard of Château Ramage La Batisse. If you haven’t, it’s a remarkable cru bourgeois from the Haut-Médoc that’s only a short stroll from First Growth Châteaux Lafite and Mouton Rothschild. Our Bordeaux Buyer Jean-Marc Sauboua has known the family for years and they always give him first refusal on their latest releases. Which is lucky for us – and you – because the family hoard their finest vintages for years, only parting with them when they’re ready to enjoy. This 2015 is supple and approachable now, but will develop over the next few years and maintain peak form for a few after that. Open an hour or two before serving with your Sunday roast.
Bleasdale Vineyards Mulberry Tree Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
Bleasdale is “one of the most historic wineries in Australia ... in 2015 celebrating 165 years of continuous winemaking by the direct descendants of the founding Potts family.” (Halliday). Among many major awards, they’ve won the Jimmy Watson Trophy and winemaker Paul Hotker, a “master blender”, was named Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year 2018. "Unfussed cabernet at its fragrant cassis-lifted best. Barely any oak gets in the way of its pure fruit expression, with classical regional chocolate notes more important in the overall sense of the palate. But every new sip starts with that cabernet aroma and finishes with its spicy tannins, and that's always a joy... 92pts... Great Value" (Tony Love, Halliday Wine Companion).
Claymore Wines Black Magic Woman Clare Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine defines charisma! Juicy plum and dark cherry fruits combine with licks of mint and fennel that overlay a slatey-granite earthiness. It’s a deep, dark, dangerously intense Cabernet with integrated tannins and dense dark fruits wound up in savoury spice. The wine show judges and critics are consistently awarding the Black Magic Woman Reserve Cabernet Gold – again and again and again!
Bentwing Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
Coonawarra is a very special place. It doesn’t share the relentless dry heat of the Adelaide summer, being much more temperate. It also has the excellent free-draining terra rossa soils that make it perfect for grape-growing. The resulting wines show incredible richness, flavour, structure and complexity - as you'll taste with the mighty Bentwing Coonawarra Cabernet here. It's a terrific partner to a lamb roast.
Mountadam Vineyards Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Mountadam can boast being the “foremost producer of chardonnay in the Eden Valley” (Halliday), but their deeply layered, textural and complex reds are also creating great excitement amongst the trade. Try for yourself here with this 'exuberant' yet underrated Cabernet showing lovely florals of violets, dark brambly fruits and fine supple tannins. "A morass of mulched leaf, anise and black currant, dabbed with olive. A lovely, energetic feel, finishing with verdant cigar box tannins and a whiff of mint to menthol. This has spent up to 24 months in oak and is in it for the long haul. It will be nice to taste it again when the curranty exuberance calms... 93pts" (Halliday Wine Companion, Ned Goodwin MW).